Ansari was born in the city of Mashhad, Iran. Her family left the country in 1984 when she was a teenager to give her the opportunity to continue her education in technical and science fields.

Ansari spoke no English when her family arrived in the U.S. and settled in Virginia. She learned English through "English as a Second Language" courses during the school year and took more classes at a community college in the summer.

“The good thing is, the language of math is universal, so I could do fine in my multiple science classes,” she said.

Ansari received a bachelor’s degree in electronics and computer engineering from George Mason University and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University.

She served as the co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies, a company she helped establish in 1993. Ansari and her husband sold the company in 2000, which provided an opening to pursue her dream of going to space.

“It was a combination of having the time and the financial capability to do something serious about it,” Ansari said.

Ansari and her family set up the Ansari XPRIZE, a $10 million award for the first non-governmental organization to create and launch a reusable manned spacecraft. The prize was designed to help the movement of private space travel, Ansari said.

Through XPRIZE, Ansari met Eric Anderson, the president and CEO of Space Adventures, a space tourism company. Ansari purchased her trip to the International Space Station through Space Adventures.

Ansari trained as a backup crew member for a year in Russia before being advanced to the primary crew.

Anousheh Ansari in training for her trip to space.(Photo: Courtesy of Anousheh Ansari)

Ansari said she spent a total of 11 days in space — two in the Soyuz capsule and nine on board the International Space Station.

While on board the International Space Station, Ansari blogged about the human side of the experience, such as eating food in space. Ansari said it was the first time someone blogged from space.

Ansari said her time space was a transformational experience and is something that has stayed with her in the eleven years since.

“It makes you look at the world differently. It makes you feel humble because everything seems so big and the universe seems so vast and you’re just a tiny significant part of it,” Ansari said. “But at the same time, I saw that the world shrunk in front of my eyes. All the problems that seemed insurmountable shrunk in front of my eyes and everything was possible.”

After she returned from space, Ansari founded telecommunications company Prodea Systems. She said she has continued to fuel her interest in space exploration through her involvement in organizations and companies that are building technology for space.

Ansari, who now lives in Texas, is on the board of trustees of the XPRIZE Foundation and is a life member of the Association of Space Explorers. She has also received multiple honors, such as her recognition as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Farhadi did not attend the Academy Awards in protest of the Trump administration's travel ban that restricted people from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the U.S. at the time.

Ansari, who said she did not know Farhadi, said the Oscar speech on behalf of the filmmaker was a last-minute and surreal experience.

“I was already not happy about what was happening. I’m an immigrant who has contributed tremendously to the country. I feel part of this country. I’ve lived here longer than I lived in my own home country now,” Ansari said. “I felt strongly about that and I had this opportunity through the involvement in the event to deliver the message from the filmmaker that I also believe in.”

Ansari said she continues to support other Iranians, especially Iranian women.

“Today a lot of what you hear on the news is about terrorism and things that are not representative of the people of Iran,” she said. “I’m happy to highlight the positive work and impact and contribution of Iranians from every place in the world.”

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